Labor, Coalition clash on border security as Nauru detainees surge

Labor and the Coalition are clashing on border security after a surge in the number of asylum seekers detained at Australia’s offshore processing centre in Nauru.

The figure was zero in July 2023, according to Home Affairs. It rose to 101 as of November 30.

The Coalition blames a drop in aerial surveillance for the increase.

But Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke has denied any decrease, accusing his opposition counterpart James Paterson of being “embarrassed” by the former Coalition government’s aerial surveillance failures.

“Aerial surveillance has not decreased,” Mr Burke told NewsWire on Monday.

“Mr Paterson knows this but is embarrassed about the gaps in the contracts signed by the previous government.

“That’s why during the previous government, Project Sentinel failed to complete a third of its missions.”

A Home Affairs audit in 2021 found the Coalition was paying tens of millions of dollars to a defence contractor for surveillance flights that never took place.

The contractor had only flown 64 per cent of the missions it was supposed to and billed taxpayers about $90m for phantom flights.

“The contractor who had been appointed by the previous government was not delivering so defence assets have been used to fill the gap,” Mr Burke said.

“For many years now every people smuggling venture has failed.

“The only three sorts of people who try to claim otherwise are Liberals, Nationals and people smugglers.”

But Senator Paterson insisted there had been a drop in aerial patrols, pointing to a gradual decline in patrol days reported.

“The numbers don’t lie,” he told NewsWire.

“Aerial surveillance hours and maritime patrol days have crashed on Labor’s watch.

“In 2020-21 Border Force achieved 2485 patrol days.

“In 2023-24 that fell to 2086, down 16 per cent.

“In 2020-21 ABF managed 16,010 surveillance hours. In 2023-24 it was 12,579, down 21.4 per cent.”

Indeed, the numbers do stand up against numbers in Home Affairs annual reports for the 2020-21 and 2023-24 years.

“That’s why 26 people smuggling ventures have attempted to reach Australia since the election and at least seven have reached Australia,” Senator Patterson said.

“The only time Nauru has had more illegal maritime arrivals is when Tony Burke was last immigration minister in the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd era.

“Only a Dutton Coalition government will restore Operation Sovereign Borders to its full strength and stop the boats again.”